Discover the SEC’s recent revelations about FTX cryptocurrency exchange’s collapse and the role of Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents.
Over the weekend, the SEC released significant information about the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Former SEC officer John Reed Stark brought up the matter, which focuses on the part played by Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents in the exchange’s management.
News about cryptocurrencies FTX: charges made against the SEC and SBF’s parents
In a tweet that was sent on Saturday, Reed Stark criticizes Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents harshly.
The individual labeled them as not just profiteers, collaborators, and accomplices, but also criminal benefactors of their son’s mishandled exchange.
Note that John Reed Stark was originally the director of the SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement, but he is currently simply a lawyer and law professor at a university. Therefore, he is not a party involved in this subject and is a true expert on such matters.
The SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) have not added SBF’s parents to the list of defendants in this case, he recalls, despite the fact that he headed the office that dealt with Internet enforcement for 11 of his nearly 20 years as an SEC lawyer.
In between, he seems to be trying to charge that the agency and the federal government have been too lenient with Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried—possibly because the agencies are run by Democrats.
It is well known that SBF gave Democratic lawmakers donations totaling several billion dollars from FTX users. Not to be overlooked is the fact that the US will hold presidential elections the following year.
The allegations against the DoJ and SEC
Indeed, Reed Stark accuses the SEC and DoJ of other things as well.
He asserts that, in contrast to approximately 200 SEC actions, there have been an exceptionally low number of DoJ charges in the cryptocurrency space over the years.
He refers to the SEC as “merely a civil enforcement agency,” implying that until the Department of Justice steps in, cryptocurrency scammers will continue to see the risks involved with SEC lawsuits as nothing more than operational expenses that need to be planned for.
As a result, he urges the Department of Justice to wake up and act, particularly against Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents.
Where SBF’s parents stand
In fact, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried have not only consistently stood up for their son, but they have also been charged with involvement in SBF’s fraudulent activities.
It is not yet established, however they are alleged to have assisted him in founding FTX as well as Alameda Research.
It is also alleged—though not yet proven—that they got multiple tens of millions of dollars from their son through FTX accounts, presumably from the exchange’s customer cash.
Naturally, they run the potential of being prosecuted as well, although reportedly not by the Justice Department. Nor does their son.
It has always been believed that current U.S. policy turns out to be unduly lenient on this topic, even though it is not yet assured that the DoJ will really decide not to take action against them.
However, it is clear that the Bankman-Fried family has Democratic affiliations because Barbara Fried is a co-founder of the Mind the Gap political organization, which openly supports the Democratic Party, and Joseph Bankman backed Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Nonetheless, it must be acknowledged that the SEC, whose current chairman Gary Gensler was chosen by President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has never appeared to have been especially lenient toward cryptocurrencies and the FTX case.
The case
However, the trial against SBF has not yet started, and it appears likely that Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried will also be involved in the end.
As a result, the case may continue for a very long time, in part because Barbara Fried and Joseph Bankman are both university law professors.
They will most likely use force to defend themselves and their kid, even in the face of the flagrant transgressions he has committed.
This indicates that if a Republican president is elected the next year, they may lose many of the insider Democratic Party positions in US institutions including the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission by 2025.
